The audience, the volunteers on the ladder, and the work you do not own.

General liability

Audiences, visitors and participants at performances, exhibitions and workshops.

Without it — Public assembly is the core exposure, and every venue contract requires evidence of it.

Fine art and property in your care

Works on loan, borrowed collections and pieces in transit — property you do not own but are responsible for.

Without it — A property policy covers what you own, and a lender’s agreement makes their piece your liability.

Media and rights liability

Copyright, performance rights, defamation and clearance disputes over what you staged or exhibited.

Without it — Unlicensed music or an unlicensed script is a claim, and it is a common one in community theater.

Volunteer and participant injury

Technical crews, set builders and stewards — working at height with tools, mostly unpaid.

Without it — Set construction and rigging is the most dangerous thing most arts organizations do.

Event cancellation

Non-recoverable costs and lost income when a run or exhibition cannot go ahead.

Without it — A cancelled run still owes the venue, the crew and the marketing spend.

Directors and officers

Board claims over governance, funding, employment and artistic disputes.

Without it — Grant conditions and artistic direction are both frequent sources of board-level claims.

A gallery is lending us work. Whose insurance covers it?

Yours, almost certainly, and the loan agreement will say so — the standard position is that the borrower insures the work wall-to-wall, meaning from the moment it leaves the lender to the moment it returns, including transit and installation. That is fine art cover on a specific schedule with agreed values, not a line on a general property policy, and it needs arranging before the piece moves rather than before it is hung. Read the agreement for the valuation basis and the transit terms, because those are the two things that differ between lenders and they are the two things that matter in a claim.

Do we need rights coverage for a community production?

You need the licenses, and you should carry the coverage. Performance rights for a play, a musical or the music in a production are licensed separately, and the commonest claim in community arts is not an accident at all — it is a rights holder discovering an unlicensed performance, an unlicensed cast recording, or photography used beyond what was cleared. Media liability responds to the allegation; nothing responds to simply not having bought the license. Do both, and keep the paperwork with the production file.